THE Mobile Cinema, based in Ardrossan’s Church of the Nazerene is organising an out of this world two-day event to celebrate space.

The event hopes to inspire communities and individuals to “Reach for the Stars” on October 6 and 7.

Special guest speakers include Sophie Gribben who will talk about her time at the US Space Camp (and yes - she is a space cadet), Prof. Hendry will show movie clips demonstrating the use of scientific theories in Sci-Fi films (entitled “Einstein goes to Hollywood”) and the Astronomer Royal for Scotland Prof. Brown will guide us through the role of Scottish Astronomers in charting the night skies (Ayrshire to NASA’s JW Space Telescope). This includes the work of Brisbane and Kelvin, influential giants in the world of Astronomy.

A mobile planetarium will be based within the church building and “Cosmos Planetarium” will be using fantastic state-of-the-art technology giving viewers a wonderful view of the night sky and space; experiencing a truly cinematic and totally immersive experience during the presenter led session.

Keeping to the UK involvement in space, one session will be of the British astronaut Tim Peake aboard the International Space station. Sessions last 30 minutes and run from 10am until 3.30pm. There is a limitation on audience numbers of 25 people per session - so please book to avoid disappointment for this one day event.

To ensure the day has something for everybody there will be a series of workshops throughout the day. Whilst the range may change it is intended the following will be available - VR headsets, meteorites, creating craters, Mars Rover Landing Game and bottle rockets decorating and then firing them into the skies. In addition there will also be the space themed colouring in and dress-up spacesuits.

Organiser, Craig Crosthwaite, said: “It is our aspiration that all will be inspired to think about space and Scotland’s role in the future of exploration and colonisation. For those who would like to be a winner in the here and now we will be running two competitions during the day. Prizes include a signed book series from Keith Mansfield (Trilogy featuring the exploits of Johnny MacIntosh) and space suits for children (6-8 and 8+).”

On Friday, October 6 the mobile cinema will be showing their first spaced themed movie (to be announced on their website) with the second being the conclusion of a great day on Saturday, October 7. Both films start at 6pm and will be suitable for all the family. Tuck will be available to enjoy during the film, raising funds for our children’s anti-hunger holiday programme.

Come along - get involved - explore space and hear great speakers. Reach for the Stars.

Please note: Only the planetarium requires to be booked. Due to time constraints each session will start on the hour or half hour. Ticket holders are requested to be queued five minutes before their allocated time slot. There is no planetarium session at 1.30pm to allow the presenters to have a lunch break.

The workshops and speaker sessions are open on a drop-in basis. Turn up and enjoy.